(By Senators Kessler (Acting President) and Hall, By request of
the Executive)

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[Introduced January 21, 2011; referred to the Committee
on Military; and then to the Committee on Finance.]

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A BILL to amend and reenact §4-10-8 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended; to amend and reenact §5F-1-2 of said code;
to amend and reenact §5F-2-1 of said code; to amend and
reenact §6-7-2a of said code; and to amend and reenact §9A-1-1, §9A-1-2 and §9A-1-4 of said code, all relating to
redesignating the Division of Veterans’ Affairs as the
Department of Veterans’ Assistance within the executive
branch; establishing the time period for review of the
Department of Veterans’ Assistance by the Joint Standing
Committee on Government Organization and the Joint Committee
on Government Operations; providing that the Veterans’ Council
be part of the Department of Veterans’ Assistance; providing
that the department be supervised by a secretary-level
administrator; establishing the salary of the secretary;
providing an effective date for redesignation; making other
changes to the code to comport with the amendment; and
providing technical and clerical cleanup.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That §4-10-8 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted; that §5F-1-2 of said code be amended and
reenacted; that §5F-2-1 of said code be amended and reenacted; that
§6-7-2a of said code be amended and reenacted; and that §9A-1-1,
§9A-1-2 and §9A-1-4 of said code be amended and reenacted, all to
read as follows:

CHAPTER 4. THE LEGISLATURE.

ARTICLE 10. PERFORMANCE REVIEW ACT.

§4-10-8. Schedule of departments for agency review.

(a) Each department shall make a presentation pursuant to the
provisions of this article, to the Joint Standing Committee and the
committee during the first interim meeting after the regular
session of the year in which the department is to be reviewed
pursuant to the schedule set forth in subsection (b) of this
section.

(b) An agency review shall be performed on one or more
agencies under the purview of each department at least once every
six years, commencing as follows:

(1) 2008, the Department of Administration;

(2) 2009, the Department of Education and the Arts, and the
Department of Education, including the Higher Education Policy
Commission and the West Virginia Council for Community and
Technical College Education;

(3) 2010, the Department of Revenue and the Department of
Commerce;

(4) 2011, the Department of Environmental Protection and the
Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety;

(5) 2012, the Department of Health and Human Resources,
including the Bureau of Senior Services; and

(6) 2013, the Department of Transportation; and

(7) 2016, the Department of Veteran’s Assistance.

CHAPTER 5F. REORGANIZATION OF THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH OF STATE
GOVERNMENT.

ARTICLE 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS.

§5F-1-2. Executive departments created; offices of secretary
created.

(a) There are created, within the executive branch of the
state government, the following departments:

(1) Department of Administration;

(2) Department of Education and the Arts;

(3) Department of Environmental Protection;

(4) Department of Health and Human Resources;

(5) Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety;

(6) Department of Revenue;

(7) Department of Transportation; and

(8) Department of Commerce; and

(9) Effective January 14, 2013, Department of Veteran’s
Assistance.

(b) Each department will be headed by a secretary appointed by
the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. Each
secretary serves at the will and pleasure of the Governor.

ARTICLE 2. TRANSFER OF AGENCIES AND BOARDS.

§5F-2-1. Transfer and incorporation of agencies and boards; funds.

(a) The following agencies and boards, including all of the
allied, advisory, affiliated or related entities and funds
associated with any agency or board, are incorporated in and
administered as a part of the Department of Administration:

(1) Building Commission provided in article six, chapter five
of this code;

(2) Public Employees Insurance Agency provided in article
sixteen, chapter five of this code;

(b) The following agencies and boards, including all of the
allied, advisory, affiliated or related entities and funds
associated with any agency or board, are incorporated in and
administered as a part of the Department of Commerce:

(1) Division of Labor provided in article one, chapter twenty-one of this code, which includes:

(2) Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training provided in
article one, chapter twenty-two-a of this code. The following
boards are transferred to the Office of Miners' Health, Safety and
Training for purposes of administrative support and liaison with
the Office of the Governor:

(5) Division of Forestry provided in article one-a, chapter
nineteen of this code;

(6) Geological and Economic Survey provided in article two,
chapter twenty-nine of this code; and

(7) Workforce West Virginia provided in chapter twenty-one-a
of this code, which includes:

(A) Division of Unemployment Compensation;

(B) Division of Employment ServicesService;

(C) Division of Workforce Development; and

(D) Division of Research, Information and Analysis.

(8) Division of Energy provided in article two-f, chapter
five-b of this code.

(c) The Economic Development Authority provided in article
fifteen, chapter thirty-one of this code is continued as an
independent agency within the executive branch.

(d) The Water Development Authority and the Water Development
Authority Board provided in article one, chapter twenty-two-c of
this code is continued as an independent agency within the
executive branch.

(e) The following agencies and boards, including all of the
allied, advisory and affiliated entities, are transferred to the
Department of Environmental Protection for purposes of
administrative support and liaison with the office of the Governor:

(1) Air Quality Board provided in article two, chapter twenty-two-b of this code;

(f) The following agencies and boards, including all of the
allied, advisory, affiliated or related entities and funds
associated with any agency or board, are incorporated in and
administered as a part of the Department of Education and the Arts:

(g) The following agencies and boards, including all of the
allied, advisory, affiliated or related entities and funds
associated with any agency or board, are incorporated in and
administered as a part of the Department of Health and Human
Resources:

(1) Human Rights Commission provided in article eleven,
chapter five of this code;

(7) Women's Commission provided in article twenty, chapter
twenty-nine of this code; and

(8) The Child Support Enforcement Division provided in chapter
forty-eight of this code.

(h) The following agencies and boards, including all of the
allied, advisory, affiliated or related entities and funds
associated with any agency or board, are incorporated in and
administered as a part of the Department of Military Affairs and
Public Safety:

(11) Board of Probation and Parole provided in article twelve,
chapter sixty-two of this code. and

(12) Division of Veterans' Affairs and Veterans' Council
provided in article one, chapter nine-a of this code.

(i) The following agencies and boards, including all of the
allied, advisory, affiliated or related entities and funds
associated with any agency or board, are incorporated in and
administered as a part of the Department of Revenue:

(11) The Office of Tax Appeals provided in article ten-a,
chapter eleven of this code; and

(12) The State Athletic Commission provided in article five-a,
chapter twenty-nine of this code.

(j) The following agencies and boards, including all of the
allied, advisory, affiliated or related entities and funds
associated with any agency or board, are incorporated in and
administered as a part of the Department of Transportation:

(1) Division of Highways provided in article two-a, chapter
seventeen of this code;

(2) Parkways, Economic Development and Tourism Authority
provided in article sixteen-a, chapter seventeen of this code;

(6) State Rail Authority provided in article eighteen, chapter
twenty-nine of this code; and

(7) Public Port Authority provided in article sixteen-b,
chapter seventeen of this code.

(k) The Veterans' Council provided in article one, chapter
nine-a of this code, including all of the allied, advisory,
affiliated or related entities and funds associated with it, is
incorporated in and administered as a part of the Department of
Veteran’s Assistance.

(k)(l) Except for powers, authority and duties that have been
delegated to the secretaries of the departments by the provisions
of section two of this article, the position of administrator and
the powers, authority and duties of each administrator and agency
are not affected by the enactment of this chapter.

(l)(m) Except for powers, authority and duties that have been
delegated to the secretaries of the departments by the provisions
of section two of this article, the existence, powers, authority
and duties of boards and the membership, terms and qualifications
of members of the boards are not affected by the enactment of this
chapter. All boards that are appellate bodies or are independent
decision makers shall not have their appellate or independent
decision-making status affected by the enactment of this chapter.

(m)(n) Any department previously transferred to and
incorporated in a department by prior enactment of this section
means a division of the appropriate department. Wherever reference
is made to any department transferred to and incorporated in a
department created in section two, article one of this chapter, the
reference means a division of the appropriate department and any
reference to a division of a department so transferred and
incorporated means a section of the appropriate division of the
department.

(n)(o) When an agency, board or commission is transferred
under a bureau or agency other than a department headed by a
secretary pursuant to this section, that transfer is solely for
purposes of administrative support and liaison with the Office of
the Governor, a department secretary or a bureau. Nothing in this
section extends the powers of department secretaries under section
two of this article to any person other than a department secretary
and nothing limits or abridges the statutory powers and duties of
statutory commissioners or officers pursuant to this code.

CHAPTER 6. GENERAL PROVISIONS RESPECTING OFFICERS.

ARTICLE 7. COMPENSATION AND ALLOWANCES.

§6-7-2a. Terms of certain appointive state officers; appointment;
qualifications; powers and salaries of such officers.

(a) Each of the following appointive state officers named in
this subsection shall be appointed by the Governor, by and with the
advice and consent of the Senate. Each of the appointive state
officers serves at the will and pleasure of the Governor for the
term for which the Governor was elected and until the respective
state officers’ successors have been appointed and qualified. Each
of the appointive state officers are subject to the existing
qualifications for holding each respective office and each has and
is hereby granted all of the powers and authority and shall perform
all of the functions and services heretofore vested in and
performed by virtue of existing law respecting each office.

Prior to July 1, two thousand six, each such named appointive
state officer shall continue to receive the annual salaries they
were receiving as of the effective date of the enactment of this
section in two thousand six and thereafter, notwithstanding any
other provision of this code to the contrary, The annual salary of
each named appointive state officer shall beis as follows:

Commissioner, Division of Highways, $92,500; Commissioner,
Division of Corrections,$80,000; Director, Division of Natural
Resources, $75,000; Superintendent, State Police, $85,000;
Commissioner, Division of Banking, $75,000; Commissioner, Division
of Culture and History, $65,000; Commissioner, Alcohol Beverage
Control Commission, $75,000; Commissioner, Division of Motor
Vehicles, $75,000; Chairman, Health Care Authority, $80,000;
members, Health Care Authority, $70,000; Director, Human Rights
Commission, $55,000; Commissioner, Division of Labor, $70,000;
Director, Division of Veterans' Affairs, sixty-five thousand
dollars; Chairperson, Board of Parole, $55,000; members, Board of
Parole, $50,000; members, Employment Security Review Board,
$17,000; and Commissioner, Bureau of Employment ProgramsWorkforce
West Virginia, $75,000. Secretaries of the departments shall be
paid an annual salary as follows: Health and Human Resources,
$95,000; Transportation, $95,000: Provided, That if the same
person is serving as both the Secretary of Transportation and the
Commissioner of Highways, he or she shall be paid $120,000;
Revenue, $95,000; Military Affairs and Public Safety, $95,000;
Administration, $95,000; Education and the Arts, $95,000; Commerce,
$95,000; Veterans’ Assistance, $95,000; and Environmental
Protection, $95,000; Provided, however, That any increase in the
salary of any current appointive state officer named in this
subsection pursuant to the reenactment of this subsection during
the regular session of the Legislature in 2006 that exceeds $5,000
shall be paid to such officer or his or her successor beginning on
July 1, 2006, in annual increments of $5,000 per fiscal year, up to
the maximum salary provided in this subsection: Provided further,
That if the same person is serving as both the Secretary of
Transportation and the Commissioner of Highways, then the annual
increments of $5,000 per fiscal year do not apply.

(b) Each of the state officers named in this subsection shall
continue to be appointed in the manner prescribed in this code and,
prior to July 1, 2006, each of the state officers named in this
subsection shall continue to receive the annual salaries he or she
was receiving as of the effective date of the enactment of this
section in 2006 and shall thereafter, notwithstanding any other
provision of this code to the contrary, be paid an annual salary as
follows:

Director, Board of Risk and Insurance Management, $80,000;
Director, Division of Rehabilitation Services, $70,000; Director,
Division of Personnel, $70,000; Executive Director, Educational
Broadcasting Authority, $75,000; Secretary, Library Commission,
$72,000; Director, Geological and Economic Survey, $75,000;
Executive Director, prosecuting attorneys Institute, $70,000;
Executive Director, Public Defender Services, $70,000;
Commissioner, Bureau of Senior Services, $75,000; Director, State
Rail Authority, $65,000; Executive Director, Women's Commission,
$45,000; Director, Hospital Finance Authority, $35,000; member,
Racing Commission, $12,000; Chairman, Public Service Commission,
$85,000; members, Public Service Commission, $85,000; Director,
Division of Forestry, $75,000; Director, Division of Juvenile
Services, $80,000; and Executive Director, Regional Jail and
Correctional Facility Authority, $80,000: Provided, That any
increase in the salary of any current appointive state officer
named in this subsection pursuant to the reenactment of this
subsection during the regular session of the Legislature in 2006
that exceeds $5,000 shall be paid to such officer or his or her
successor beginning on July, 1 2006, in annual increments of $5,000
per fiscal year, up to the maximum salary provided in this
subsection.

(c) Each of the following appointive state officers named in
this subsection shall be appointed by the Governor, by and with the
advice and consent of the Senate. Each of the appointive state
officers serves at the will and pleasure of the Governor for the
term for which the Governor was elected and until the respective
state officers’ successors have been appointed and qualified. Each
of the appointive state officers are subject to the existing
qualifications for holding each respective office and each has and
is hereby granted all of the powers and authority and shall perform
all of the functions and services heretofore vested in and
performed by virtue of existing law respecting each office.

Prior to July 1, 2006, each such named appointive state
officer shall continue to receive the annual salaries they were
receiving as of the effective date of the enactment of this section
in 2006 and thereafter, notwithstanding any other provision of this
code to the contrary, the annual salary of each named appointive
state officer shall be as follows:

(d) No increase in the salary of any appointive state officer
pursuant to this section shallmay be paid until and unless the
appointive state officer has first filed with the State Auditor and
the Legislative Auditor a sworn statement, on a form to be
prescribed by the Attorney General, certifying that his or her
spending unit is in compliance with any general law providing for
a salary increase for his or her employees. The Attorney General
shall prepare and distribute the form to the affected spending
units.

CHAPTER 9A. VETERANS' AFFAIRS.

ARTICLE 1. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS' AFFAIRS.

§9A-1-1. Creation and general purposes.

A state agency to be known asEffective January 14, 2013,Thethe West Virginia Division of Veterans' Affairs is hereby created
and established within the Department of Military Affairs and
Public Safetyredesignated the Department of Veteran’s Assistance
for the purpose of aiding, assisting, counseling and advising, and
looking after the rights and interests of, all persons known as
veterans who have served in the Armed Forces of the United States
in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force or Coast Guard as
defined by the laws of the United States and whose separation
therefrom has been other than dishonorable and who are citizens and
residents of this state, and the widows, dependents and orphans,
who are or have become citizens and residents of this state, or all
persons known as veterans who have served in the Armed Forces of
the United States in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force or
Coast Guard as defined by the laws of the United States and whose
separation therefrom has been other than dishonorable.

All references in this code to the West Virginia Division of
Veterans' Affairs and the Director of the West Virginia Division of
Veterans' Affairs shall mean the Department of Veteran’s Assistance
and the Secretary of the Department of Veteran’s Assistance,
respectively.

§9A-1-2. Veterans’ council; administration of department.

There is continued the “Veterans’ Council” consisting of nine
members who must be citizens and residents of this state and who
have served in and been honorably discharged or separated under
honorable conditions from the Armed Forces of the United States and
whose service was within a time of war as defined by the laws of
the United States, either Public Law No. 2 –- 73rd Congress, or
Public Law No. 346 –- 78th Congress, and amendments thereto. At
least one member of the council must be a veteran of World War II,
at least one member of the council must be a veteran of the Korean
Conflict, at least two members of the council must be veterans of
the Vietnam era, at least one member must be a veteran of the first
Gulf War and at least one member must be a veteran of the
Afghanistan or Iraqi Conflicts. The members of the veterans’
council must be selected with special reference to their ability
and fitness to effectuate the purposes of this article.

A directorsecretary and such veterans’ affairs officers,
assistants and employees as may be deemedthe secretary considers
advisable, shall administer the West Virginia division of veterans’
affairsDepartment of Veteran’s Assistance.

ARTICLE 1. DIVISION OF VETERANS' AFFAIRS.

§9A-1-4. Duties and functions of Veterans' Council; appointment of
secretary; honoring academic achievement at military
academies.

(a) It is the duty and function of the Veterans' Council to
advise the directorsecretary on the general administrative
policies of the divisiondepartment, to select, at their first
meeting in each fiscal year commencing on July 1, a chairmanchairperson to serve one year, to advise the directorsecretary on
rules as may be necessary, to advise the Governor and the
Legislature with respect to legislation affecting the interests of
veterans, their widows, dependents and orphans and to make annual
reports to the Governor respecting the service of the divisiondepartment. The directorsecretary has the same eligibility and
qualifications prescribed for members of the Veterans' Council.
The Governor shall appoint a director for a term of six years, by
and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Before making the
appointmentappointing the secretary the Governor shall request the
council of the West Virginia division of veterans' affairs to
furnish a full and complete report concerning the qualifications
and suitability of the proposed appointee. The director may only
be removed by the Governor for cause, but shall have upon his or
her own request an open hearing before the Governor on the
complaints or charges lodged against him or her. The action of the
Governor shall be final. The directorsecretary ex officio shall
beis the executive secretary of the Veterans' Council, shall keep
the minutes of each meeting and be in charge of all records of the
divisiondepartment.

(b) The Veterans’ Council may annually honor each West
Virginian graduating from the U.S. Military Academy, the U.S. Naval
Academy, the U.S. Air Force Academy and the U.S. Coast Guard
Academy with the highest grade point average by bestowing upon him
or her the “West Augusta Award.” The award shall be in a design
and form established by the council and include the famous
Revolutionary War phrase from which the award’s name is derived:
“Once again our brethren from West Augusta have answered the call
to duty.” The council shall coordinate the manner of recognition
of the recipient at graduation ceremonies with each academy.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to redesignate the Division
of Veterans’ Affairs to the Department of Veteran’s Assistance and
to provide that the department be supervised by a secretary level
administrator.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.